On this day: one of medieval England’s greatest rulers, King Henry II, was crowned

Henry had a lot of names: Henry FitzEmpress, Henry Plantagenet, Henry of Anjou, Henry Curtmantle. They all say something important about him.

He is best known for the infamous and lethal spat with his friend Archbishop Thomas Becket – a rift that led to the medieval world’s most notorious assassination in Canterbury cathedral. But Henry should be remembered for more than that one terrible outburst. He was in fact a consummately energetic king, and one of the key architects of medieval England.

Henry was born in France in 1133. He grew up very well-educated, short, muscular, red-haired, freckled, grey-eyed, with an unusual dynamism. He was heir to a vast amount of land in France, which was a...